Cherry Blossoms 桜

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We came back to Japan from our Spring Break trip on April 5th, and found the cherry trees, or sakura, in full bloom. Hanami, which literally means flower viewing, is a popular spring time activity in Japan. People bring picnic lunches and drinks and sit out under the trees for the afternoon, observing the short-lived beauty of the blossoms. The weather reports include information on the cherry blossom front as it moves north, and when peak bloom times will be. Above is a popular hanami spot in Ono, about a 5 minute walk from our house and close to the schools that we each teach at on Mondays and Thursdays. As classes had yet to start, Joe and I were able to meet for a hanami lunch twice during cherry blossom week. On Thursday while we were eating lunch, an older woman came and began to play a traditional Japanese flute, which was amazing. Below is a skyward view of the trees in Ono.
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From our second floor window, we had a view of the Ono sakura.
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On Saturday we went to Himeji with our friend Aiko to do hanami near the castle.
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Aiko snacking on a custard pastry.
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There were thousands of people gathered for hanami around the castle, it felt like a national day of picnics.
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We spent most of the afternoon eating snacks, drinking tea, and chatting.
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Himeji castle and sakura.....
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A shrine near the castle.
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In the evening we stopped into a hip interior design shop in Himeji and had a fantastic dinner of contemporary Japanese food. A perfect day.

India- Mumbai

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On Friday morning we took a quick 45 minute flight from Aurangabad to Mumbai, arriving at our hotel at around noon. We checked in, relaxed for a few minutes, and headed out for lunch at Pizzeria, a popular and tasty spot on Marine Drive with a view of the Arabian Sea.

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The view from inside of one of the thousands of black and yellow taxis that cover Mumbai's streets. After lunch, we rode from the Churchgate area over to the Colaba area on the other side of the peninsula that Mumbai occupies.

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We walked around near the Taj Hotel (above) and the Gateway of India (below). The gate was built to commemorate the visit of King George V in the early 20th century.

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Our next destination was the Colaba Street Market, where we did some last minute shopping. Along the way we walked through neighborhoods with tree-lined streets and taxi drivers napping in their cars.

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Back at our hotel near Nariman Point, a view of the Queens Necklace, the strip of Marine Drive that hugs Back Bay, so named for the lights that at night look like a necklace of jewels.

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Drinking mango juice by the pool.

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Sunset over the Arabian Sea, a perfect last night in India.

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Dinner at the India Jones restaurant in the Trident Hotel, Nariman Point. The name may be cheesy, but it suited our Indiana Jones theme, and served delicious pan-Asian food in a beautiful decor.

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Dessert.

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The beautiful yellow rose that graced our room.

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On Saturday morning we had a slow breakfast at our hotel before heading out to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, formerly known as the Prince of Wales Museum. The museum was opened in 1923 to commemorate the visit of King George V when he was the Prince of Wales.

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The Indo-Saracenic architecture of the museum was beautiful, and the interior spaces were designed in a very old-fashioned museum style. Fortunately, some of the exhibits had been recently rennovated, but others were in need of some updating. The most tragic thing about the museum was the lack of air-conditioning. Mumbai is a very hot and humid city, and the windows of the museum were open to the pollution outside. As we climbed to the third floor the heat became unbearable for us, and we did not linger for long in the museum. I was heartbroken to see works on paper, paintings, and metals housed in such stressful conditions.

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After the heat of the museum, we headed back to the hotel to have an iced tea in the lobby and cool down a bit.

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Late in the afternoon we went up to Chowpatti Beach, a popular gathering spot in Mumbai.

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Boats on the beach. The water is far too polluted to safely swim in, so we just walked through the sand and did some people watching.

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Our last stop of the day was Samaat Restaurant, back in the Churchgate area.

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One of my favorite things about India was the easy accessibility of vegetarian food. Every food product came with a small green or red dot on it telling consumers if it was suitable for vegetarians or not. Also the wealth of pure veg restaurants was wonderful. Samaat was a fantastic restaurant, and a perfect end to our trip.

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After dinner we picked up our belongings at our hotel and headed out to the airport. We caught an evening flight up to Delhi, where we had to wait for a 1 a.m. flight to Seoul (which was of course delayed). The Delhi airport was easily my least favorite part of India, it was crowded, dirty, and felt very insecure. By the time we boarded our flight we were exhausted enough to sleep the entire way to Korea, and from there we only had a short layover before the final leg of our journey, the hour and a half flight back to Kansai.

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Overall, our journey through India was amazing, and a true feast for the senses. Everything seemed to come with extra intensity, be it the intense colors of women's saris, the intense beauty of the monuments, the intense spices of the food, or the intense population, pollution, and poverty. Time felt different to me, and our 11 day trip felt like much longer. Even though we took over 970 photos, I have so many more snapshots in my head, and I think the visual aspect of India was my favorite part. While I thought that our journey was the perfect introduction for us, I would love to return someday to tour the Buddhist sights in the northeast, as well as Darjeeling or the foothills of the Himalayas.

India- Ajanta and Aurangabad

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On Thursday April 2nd, we headed out to Ajanta to see the Buddhist cave complex which dates from the 1st and 2nd centuries B.C.E. to about 650 C.E.
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It was incredibly hot, and the sun was brutal, thus my attempt to cover my dark hair. This is in front of cave 1.
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The interior of cave1, which dates to about the 6th-7th centuries. The paintings in this cave were the most spectacular.
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Paintings inside of cave 1.
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I believe the above and below photos are cave 2.
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The exterior of cave 9.
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One of the chaitya halls at Ajanta.
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Paintings on the ceiling of the chaitya hall.
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Me inside the hall.
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The painted porch to one of the caves (either 16 or 17).
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Again, either 16 or 17... I was really pleased to see that the caves were lit at a low light level with L.E.D. lights, keeping the heat levels down in the caves. Also, the guides were really aware of conservation techniques, and helped the security guards to keep visitors from touching the walls or using a flash.
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More of the wall paintings....
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And some more of the spectacular Ajanta paintings....
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The exterior of cave 19.
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The interior of cave 19, another chaitya hall.
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Looking back at the caves that we had already visited. In early April the surrounding forest was completely dry, and the Waghore River that flows beneath the caves consisted of only a few isolated pools of water. In looking at other photos of Ajanta it is hard for me to believe that for many months of the year the forest is lush and green.
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Outside of cave 26 we ran into a group of art students. We chatted with some of them for a while, they were quite sweet.
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The interior of cave 26.
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Sculpture inside of cave 26.
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More inside of cave 26.
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I think that 26 was my favorite of the chaitya halls.
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Taking a break infront of 26, before heading back the way we came.
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This is an unfinished cave, but it gives you an idea of how they carved the temples out of the cliffside.
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A highly detailed carving on the porch of one of the caves.
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More cave interiors....
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...and some more cave interiors....
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....and some more.
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I like the combination of paintings and sculpture in this cave. By this point in the day we had each drank our 1 liter bottles of water, and were ready to head to a cooler location. While the cave interiors were tolerable, even to be outisde in the shade was incredibly hot, easily over 40 degrees C (104 F).
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On our way out we passed a tree full of long-tailed monkeys.
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Driving back to Aurangabad. Throughout India I loved that even the simplest everyday items were covered in surface decoration, like this truck. While the front is a mild example, the backs and sides were often full of floral decoration or images of Hindu deities.
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Scooters were a really common mode of transport, sometimes we would see families of 4 or 5 riding on just one scooter.
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A bangle shop in the Aurangabad market.
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Spice shop.
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Fruit stand.
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Back at our hotel, we spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool before having dinner and relaxing with some English language CNN.
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